Dozens of countries now face U.S. import restrictions on animals and animal products as major livestock diseases continue to spread globally — and the federal agency responsible for protecting American agriculture has updated its official tracking list.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published its most recent Region Health Status list for animals on April 2, 2026, cataloguing APHIS-recognized disease statuses for foreign regions and identifying where temporary or regulatory trade restrictions apply.
The list serves as the operational backbone of U.S. agricultural biosecurity. Under federal regulations, APHIS restricts the importation of certain animals and animal products based on the disease status of the exporting or transit region. Restrictions are typically issued through formal rulemaking but can also be imposed administratively on a temporary basis when outbreaks emerge. The April update reflects both standing regulatory designations and a growing number of temporary restrictions tied to active disease events.
Avian Influenza Dominates the Restriction List
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) remains one of the most globally active threats captured in the update. APHIS lists more than 70 countries and territories as affected, spanning every major region of the world — from Afghanistan and China to Nigeria, Peru, South Korea, and Ukraine. Temporary avian commodity restrictions are in effect for a striking number of additional trading partners, including Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Norway, and Uruguay, among others. The entire European Poultry Trade Region — excluding Great Britain — is also under temporary restrictions covering duck commodities and live poultry trade.
The breadth of the HPAI-affected list underscores the severity and persistence of the ongoing global H5N1 epizootic, which has disrupted poultry industries worldwide and raised continued concern among public health and biosecurity professionals given the virus’s demonstrated capacity to infect mammals, including humans.
African Swine Fever Remains Entrenched Across Three Continents
African swine fever (ASF) continues to affect a wide swath of the world. APHIS designates the entire continent of Africa as affected, along with much of Asia — including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India — as well as numerous countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet sphere, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova. Parts of the European Union under active restricted zones are also included. Taiwan faces new temporary restrictions on porcine commodities as of the current update.
ASF has no approved vaccine for widespread commercial use and is nearly always fatal in domestic pigs. Its continued spread represents an ongoing threat to global pork supply chains and raises biosecurity concerns at U.S. ports of entry, particularly given the volume of international travel and the risk of contaminated animal products entering the country informally.
Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Emerging Screwworm Concerns
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) restrictions apply to a complex web of countries — some declared free but subject to commodity-level restrictions, others not free but permitted to export beef meeting specific processing requirements. Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, and Slovakia are all currently under temporary restrictions for FMD, signaling fresh outbreak activity in parts of Europe.
A separate and noteworthy entry involves New World screwworm. Mexico is under a temporary restriction on live animal commodities specifically due to screwworm — a parasitic fly whose larvae infest living tissue in livestock and, rarely, humans. The screwworm affected-region list spans more than 80 countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The Mexico restriction is particularly significant given the volume of live cattle trade across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Several pathogens on the list, including HPAI and screwworm, carry direct or indirect implications for human health and food security. Others, like ASF and FMD, pose existential threats to domestic livestock industries if introduced into the United States.
Sources and further reading:
Region Health Status – Animals – USDA APHIS